Fury in Cornwall as sand keeps getting ‘stolen’ from one of UK’s best beaches

Locals in a town are furious as sand keeps being “stolen” from their beach, named the UK’s best.

Residents and visitors to Hayle have once again that diggers and lorries are scooping the sand from the along the estuary and taking it away.

The issue was highlighted last summer when voices were raised against the practice, claiming it damages to the environment and is a hazard to beachgoers.

On the Help Stop Hayle Sand Being Taken Away! page, group members have been posting pictures and videos of diggers and lorries at work along the beach by the river.

In August last year, Sophie Daniels launched a petition to see the end of dredging on . She explained: “Our once tranquil beach is suffering as tonnes of sand are removed day and night, sold for profit with no thought of the environmental repercussions.”

Daniels went on to say that the ill effects of the dredging are evident, claiming night-time operations disrupt peace, and the excavation poses a risk to children’s safety on the beach. 

She added that it was also a “serious threat” to the ecosystem and local wildlife. A study in the Journal of Coastal Research showed that sand mining impacts coastal and marine biodiversity and flood defences.

“Hayle Beach, a gem of Cornwall and voted Best Beach in the UK by The Times, deserves to be protected and nurtured, not exploited,” Daniels said. 

“Our plea is simple: cease the sand mining immediately. This isn’t merely about preserving our beach for recreational purposes. It’s about safeguarding our ecosystem, our local community, and our future.”

Cllr Peter Channon, Cornwall councillor for Hayle West and a member of the Cornwall Harbours Board, insisted no one is stealing sand from the beach.

He said the first furore came about when bankrupt developer Simon Wright took sand from the area known as Riviera Fields, which is part of the dunes system now overlooking the unfinished development, .

He said people got angry but the new contractors, Arpenteur, appointed by the administrators after Mr Wright’s businesses went into administration last year, are no longer doing that.

“It’s not a beach owned by Cornwall Council, it’s part of the harbour and it’s privately owned,” he said. “The river has to be dredged on a regular basis or the channel becomes too shallow for boats. Put simply, the harbour at Hayle will cease to exist if there is no dredging.”

Cllr Channon said the dredging is paid for by the sale of the sand taken away and that it is illegal to dump dredged-up sand back in the bay, which is why it has to be taken off-site and sold.

Dredging is regulated by an act of Parliament. The Hayle Harbour Act 1989 gives the Hayle Harbour Authority the power to dredge Hayle Harbour, operate the harbour, ensure safe navigation, and maintain and improve the facility.

Hayle Town Council said it is aware of residents’ and visitors’ concerns and is currently in talks with representatives of the Hayle North Quay developers, Environmental Agency, Natural England, Cornwall Council and Hayle Harbour Authority on the matter.

Hayle North Quay said that dredging the channel is needed to provide a safe channel for boats to navigate, maximise the flow of the tide to naturally flush the channel, maintain the estuary’s ecosystem, and manage flood risk.

They also insisted that dredging is not taking place on the dunes or the beach and sand is only removed from four zones. They said that the amount of sand taken is monitored through timeline photography and bathymetry surveys.

The HHA has also issued a leaflet explaining why it has to dredge the area and what happens to the sand. It is used for soil conditioning, cattle bedding, equestrian schools, and children’s play sand pits. 

The leaflet adds: “Revenue from the sand sales is reinvested into the harbour, helping to maintain and operate it. The proceeds made from the sale of sand do not come close to covering the harbour’s operating costs.”